- In August 1989, three people died near Gramercy Park as a result of a steam explosion. She writes of the 1989 incident:

The cause of that explosion, like many others, was a phenomenon known as 'water hammer,' which results from the condensation of water inside a steam pipe. In this case, steam personnel had allowed water to accumulate in a pipe they had turned off for service; when the steam valve was reopened the 400-degree steam hit the relatively cool water, with explosive results.